The war in the Middle East is sparking a civil war on the right. By now you’ve probably seen the back-and-forth between right-wing provocateur Candace Owens, who hosts a show on The Daily Wire, and the site’s co-founder and editor emeritus, Ben Shapiro.
In case the spat has eluded you, after Owens sent a tweet presumably criticizing Israel’s response to terrorist attacks—“No government anywhere has a right to commit a genocide, ever”—a video surfaced of Shapiro calling her comments “disgraceful.” (He also dinged Owens for her “faux sophistication.”)
The spat continued with Owens firing off a cryptic tweet, ostensibly aimed at Shapiro (who is Jewish), that included the bible verse, “You cannot serve both God and money.” Owens followed that up with a tweet simply saying, “Christ is King.”
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“If you feel that taking money from The Daily Wire somehow comes between you and God, by all means quit,” Shapiro responded.
Owens then accused Shapiro of “acting unprofessionally and [having been] emotionally unhinged for weeks now” (presumably, she means since the Oct. 7 murders and kidnappings committed by Hamas).
To get a better understanding of what Owens was up to, even more context is in order.
In recent weeks, a video has resurfaced where Shapiro tells Joe Rogan that Jesus was not the messiah.
As a Christian, I believe Jesus is Lord. But Shapiro is an Orthodox Jew, and there’s nothing surprising about him not believing in the divinity of Jesus. It would be surprising if he did.
So why is a years-old Joe Rogan video making the rounds now? Just like Owens weaponizing “Christ” in her coded dog whistle, it appears to be an attempt by certain elements on the right to otherize Shapiro by saying he “disrespected Jesus.”
When it comes to this kerfuffle, I’m solidly Team Shapiro. Still, it’s hard to watch this play out publicly and not ask the question: What were you expecting when you played footsie with people like Owens?
Just as an Orthodox Jew not believing in Jesus should come as no surprise to anyone, Owens’ seemingly antisemitic worldview (not to mention her public insubordination) should come as no surprise to The Daily Wire.
Back in 2019—years before she joined The Daily Wire—Owens declared, “If Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, okay, fine. The problem is that he wanted… he had dreams outside of Germany. He wanted to globalize.”
Owens has a long history of problematic comments and behavior, including having defended her good friend Kanye West, who was suspended from Instagram and Twitter (and basically lost his whole career) for antisemitic posts and statements.
How many times can the “When people tell you who they are, believe them” line be proven correct?
So why did a site co-founded by Shapiro hire her, in the first place?
Presumably, it’s because she has a certain star power and could generate clicks and buzz. And presumably, it’s because right-wing outlets prioritize these things over attributes like a reputation of character and decency, and—here’s a crazy idea for a conservative influencer—having a coherent and consistent conservative worldview.
Keep in mind, before finding massive success as a right-wing grifter, just a few years ago, Owens was still a left-wing grifter.
It also seems very clear that identity politics is involved. Owens has long cashed in on being a young Black conservative, originally gaining attention on the right with the YouTube moniker, “RedPillBlack,” and later leading the Blexit movement, urging African Americans to flee the Democratic Party.
In short, she made her identity as a young unwoke African American woman central to her brand.
When it comes to building a celebrity, it’s hard to argue with results. But I wonder if Owens’ formula is the correct criterion for deciding whether to elevate someone to your huge platform as a conservative opinion leader.
My 2016 book, Too Dumb to Fail, warned conservatives against the trend of embracing people like Owens (this was before Owens was famous). As I noted, conservatives elevate people like Ted Nugent, Joe the Plumber, and Kid Rock, because “we believe the enemy of my enemy is my friend… The moment someone stands up to our enemy, we welcome them with open arms—no vetting necessary.”
Not much has changed. Conservatism Inc. keeps promoting sketchy people who have no deep understanding or commitment to conservatism, just so long as they own the libs. And then, when they predictably do or say something crazy or evil, conservatives either defend it—or act confused as to why they don’t share our values.
Another recent example is Jason Whitlock, the erstwhile ESPN personality who was the original editor-in-chief of the Worldwide Leader in Sports’ now-defunct Black-focused website, The Undefeated.
Whitlock, who now works at the other huge major conservative podcasting and video outlet, The Blaze, recently came to Owens’ defense against “Jewish elites,” making the point that, unlike Shapiro, “She doesn’t have a two country loyalty.”
I’ve never seen a more explicit representation of the antisemitic “dual loyalty” trope than this one being used in defense of Owens versus Shapiro.
Again, Shapiro is a very smart guy. And while I think he has tried too hard to placate MAGA, he is far from the worst offender. What is more, he has endured more personal attacks from dark forces on the right than almost anybody.
The problem is that while he personally avoided going all-in on MAGA, the outlet he co-founded simultaneously elevated Owens.
It was, shall we say, a mistake. As the poem goes, “You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.”
